The Journey Home (and my last really long travel blog entry)

Now that I'm back home with a faster internet connection, I can post a few more pictures. The day before we left, we said goodbye to the Smiths (the senior missionary couple that works in the office) and the assistants/office elders. We got ties for all of elders, so they're showing them off. Elder Kroll (the one on the left) has Katie's copy of the notes for "Book of Mormon Stories" that she used to teach him how to play.

The airport goodbye was very sad for all of us. Katie kept going back for one more wave, but eventually we had to head into customs. And then we were off. The trip from Adelaide to New Zealand went really smoothly, and we landed in Auckland with an hour to connect to our next flight.

We got on the flight to LA, put all of our things where we wanted them, and even took off our shoes to get comfortable when it was announced that they had found a fuel leak on the plane and we would need to get off since the repair could take between 2-4 hours.

In case you've forgotten our last 12-hour flight, let me remind you that it was also delayed by 4 hours. In that case, the flight had left Auckland 4 hours late, so we knew when it was going to get to LA and when our flight would actually leave. When I am given a very ambiguous "2-4 hours at least", it's really hard for me to wait patiently. I like to know what I'm in for.

After about 1 1/2 hours, I began hearing rumors that the flight might be delayed up to 10 hours, since the flight crew would have to go rest after 4 hours. That sent me into panic mode--I was not prepared to spend that much time in an airport waiting with my kids, and we had to catch a flight in LA on a different airline, so the connections would be a nightmare.

I went over and planted myself at the gate so that should any tickets come available, I'd be right there. It was a full flight to begin with (at least 250 people), so that would be a really long line to have to be at the back of. There were two other flights going out that night: a 9:30 flight, which all of the business class and elite frequent fliers had already been given tickets on, and an 11:00 pm flight. They finally announced that there was no way our airplane was going anywhere for the next 24 hours, and the flight was cancelled. They were going to try to get hotels for people (which would have required people getting their luggage and going through customs and a hundred other hassels), and hopefully find everyone seats on whatever flights they could the next day.

By that time, I had really started to panic. I couldn't even begin to imagine the nightmare that would be to do that with three already exhausted children. Finally, the woman issuing tickets ran out of business class people to give seats to, and announced that the next people that would get tickets would be those with children under the age of five. I almost shouted "I DO!!" and handed her my old boarding passes, praying my most desperate prayer that she could find five seats on the flight that was leaving.

My heart was pounding and I could hardly breathe while I waited to see if we were going to get the tickets. When she finally printed them off and handed them to me, my hand was shaking when I reached out to take them. The flight was ready to leave, so we had to grab our things and run for the gate. The seats she had found were scattered all over the plane, which is far from ideal when you have children, so the flight attendant who seated us was able to find enough people willing to change so we were able to sit together (she gave all of those people a bottle of wine at the end of the trip to thank them).

I've never been so happy to have a crowded middle seat in all of my life. Our flight over had been so easy and we had each had 2 seats to ourselves. This flight, Andrew only slept about 3 or 4 hours, and I didn't sleep at all. But after having faced the possibility of spending the night either in the airport or having to haul everything to a hotel and hope for a flight the next day, I was not complaining at all. I LOVED my crowded middle seat. So I guess the lesson learned is that once you realize just how bad things can get, you can be so happy with something that is below average at best.

After getting in to LA, we rented a car and got something to eat (In-n-Out again), and then drove to the beach so I could see the sunset. It was a little chilly by then, and we had made it just in time for the sunset. So we watched it, and then got back in the car to figure out what to do. We ended up at a McDonalds that had a playland, just so the kids could burn off some energy, and then we went to the LA Temple. They had all of the Christmas lights up still, and we had a great time walking around looking at them. In Australia, the sun doesn't set until it's time to go to bed, which doesn't leave a lot of time to look at Christmas lights.

We got on our flight at 10 p.m., and the kids slept for the entire 4 1/2 hour flight. Ryan and I tried, but neither of us have had much luck sleeping on planes this trip. Abram timed things perfectly and drove up just as we finished getting our baggage. It's amazing how something that small can make such a difference when you have been travelling so long. Not having to wait was wonderful.

We spent about a half an hour there, and I realized that the short nap I had on the plane was not going to compensate for the 8 hours I had missed the night before. Ryan drove home, and I went in and out of consciousness for the entire 2 hours. I couldn't quite fall asleep, but I couldn't stay awake either.

We spent the morning unpacking, and by 1:00, Andrew and I were both down for naps. I took a solid 3 hour nap, and now that it's 10:00, I'm looking forward to a good night's sleep. I'm not sure I'll get it, since Mason and Katie both melted down at about 5:30 this evening and fell asleep. All I can do is hope for the best--but it could be an early morning!